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Mother of Greyhound slaying victim repeats call for tougher laws
Source: CBC News
Posted: 10/16/08 11:27PM
Filed Under: Canada
Canada needs tougher legislation for people found not criminally responsible for their offences, the mother of a man beheaded on a Greyhound bus said Thursday.

Speaking during a vigil at the Manitoba legislature, Carol de Delley said federal law must be revised so that people with mental illness found guilty of a crime cannot eventually be released.

"In Canada, the question here becomes treatment or punishment," she told a crowd of about 150 people. "Why not both? I believe that treatment and punishment should go hand-in-hand."

Tim McLean, a 22-year-old carnival worker, was on his way home to Winnipeg from Alberta on July 30 when he was attacked as he slept on the bus.

The man accused of second-degree murder in McLean's killing, Vincent Li, was declared fit to stand trial earlier this month following an interim psychiatric assessment. He faces the possibility of an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

The outcome of Li's trial will largely depend on whether experts think he was criminally responsible for his actions, defence lawyers have said.

For an individual to be found not criminally responsible, they must have a mental disorder and that illness must be found to have had an impact on behaviour during the situation being examined.

A person found not criminally responsible is brought before the provincial mental-health review board annually for an assessment. If the individual can prove to the board that he or she is no longer a risk to society, there is a possibility of eventual release.

De Delley said Thursday she's worried that Li could eventually be released if the court finds him not criminally responsible for her son's death. She accused the current system of being more concerned for people accused of crimes than the victims.


"My son Timothy lost his life, and our lives will never be the same without him being a part of it," she said.

"Timothy's 23rd birthday would have been two weeks ago, on Oct. 3. We had his favourite foods for dinner and a cake with good friends. But Timothy wasn't there, and he never will be again."

Dressed in T-shirts designed with a photo of McLean's face, those who attended the vigil listened quietly as de Delley made her impassioned plea.

"Myself and my family are seeking justice for Timothy [and] mercy for ourselves."

Some experts said, however, that being found not criminally responsible for a crime in no way guarantees release, or even an easy ride.

"The general public is, on the whole, not necessarily very well informed about what happens when someone is found not criminally responsible," Winnipeg defence lawyer Sarah Inness said.

"They truly are not getting away with it. It's a humane way of dealing with people that are mentally ill. It's different than dealing with criminals."

Others have said that most people declared not criminally responsible spend much more time in psychiatric hospitals than they would if they were convicted of the same crime and given a sentence.

De Delley has previously said there should be no possibility - however remote - of future release if someone is found not criminally responsible.

Witnesses said the attack on McLean, which occurred as the bus was travelling in the vicinity of Portage la Prairie, Man., appeared to be unprovoked; a man sitting next to him simply stood up and started stabbing him, then cut up his body.

With files from the Canadian Press


For as far back as I can remember, I've considered myself to be more on the conservative side of things. My beliefs when it comes to such things as economic and fiscal policy, justice, and a number of other issues, tend to be represented by conservative parties (P.C., Conservatives, Republicans...). This does not mean that I will necessarily agree with everything these parties espouse, but on the greater majority of the issues, I feel well represented.

Not all conservatives hold the exact same values, and there are some differences amongst us. For example, while I have a respect for life of all kinds, I also respect a woman's right to get an abortion. I do not agree that it should be used as one of the main methods of birth control, and think that people ought to think about the consequences of their actions more than they do.

So to with crime, and so I believe that Canada should have a death penalty. Having said that, it would only be used under a VERY specific set of criteria, and would need to have the back-up of DNA evidence. The ultimate penalty would be reserved for the Clifford Olsen's and Paul Bernardo's, the worst of the worst, who have no redeeming value whatsoever.

The idea behind a justice system is to provide, well, justice to a society that has been wronged by some of its members. To keep those who would harm society apart from it, not only to protect society, but so the offender can be re-integrated into it again, only this time being a better person for the experience. The system should give society the protection it needs while punishing the offender, so as to act as a deterrent. This is done while at the same time addressing the possibility of rehabilitating the offender so they can ultimately be integrated back into a law-abiding society again (this is Canada, how many criminals will actually spend the term of their life in prison?).

There are instances however where justice simply isn't to be had. These are the times when it isn't a crime that's been perpetrated, but rather a tragedy that has painfully unfolded before our eyes. Such as in the case of the murder of Tim McLean. Yes, it was a crime, a most horrific and disturbing crime. That crime however, was committed by someone incapable of appreciating the fact they were doing what they were doing. This would negate the argument that the criminally insane ought to be punished as well as rehabilitated. That is fine to say, however for the truly insane, the deterrent factor is non-existant since they couldn't comprehend the point anyway. For the truly mentally ill person, the aim must be rehabilitation, but the good of society must come before the right of the potentially dangerous to exist within that society at large.

I can honestly say I have a unique perspective that very few others could say they share, on this issue at least. I have known someone with a mental illness, specifically schizophrenia, from the time that I was very young. I'll withhold names in order to protect privacy. It happened a long time ago, this person I knew with schizophrenia had killed another person I had known in a most brutal manner. It shook many of us, but we knew why it had happened, and could only try to get used to the fact that there was nothing anyone could have done. Some would wonder why the psychiatrists didn't pick up on it and do something that could have prevented it from happening.

He would spend 18 years in a secure psychiatric facility, and is currently living in a half-way house/group home type of thing. His condition will be monitored constantly, at least for several more years. There is evidence that typically schizophrenia becomes asymptomatic once a person is into their 60's.

The other questions that will need to be answered will revolve around how a mentally ill Vincent Li was permitted here to begin with. In most instances I think he would be deported, except that given China's human rights record and the Canadian government's condemnation of them, he will stay. In China, Li would face a bullet to the head for what happened, and so the Canadian government will intercede to ensure Li remains on Canadian soil in perpetuity. So be it. The trick is, to stop them BEFORE they get here and do damage. We have enough of our own home-grown mental health issues, and can't even keep up with them so, we need to think about the needs of Canadians (tax payers).

I can understand and empathize with the pain being endured by Tim's friends and family, and I do not envy them in the least. They are and will forever be deeply affected, by the senselessness and brutality of the killing of their loved one, and they are in need of compassion. It is completely understandable for them to want vengeance, or even justice, but there will be no resolution in those. It will take a lot of time for these scars to heal, if many of them ever really will that is.